Govt orders districts on pension, recruitments

The government has given new guidelines on pension and recruitment to all districts and agencies in a bid to streamline service delivery and accountability. 

In an April 1 circular, a copy of which this publication has seen, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, asked all accounting officers to heed the directive.

Mr Ggoobi directed the accounting officers to ensure that files of pension and gratuity for retired workers are submitted on time to avoid  accumulation of arrears.

The directive comes hot on the heels of an outcry from the majority of pensioners who accuse the government of delaying their payment.

To ensure efficiency, Mr Ggoobi asked accounting officers to ensure that files of all pensioners are approved or rejected within two months of submission date. He also warned accounting officers against submitting wrong information.

Recruitment

Mr Ggoobi ordered accounting officers to stop undertaking unauthorised recruitment and promotion of staff outside the approved structure and without the corresponding wage.

“Going forward, no recruitment should be done without clearance from the Ministry of Public Service and should clear recruitment after ascertaining availability of adequate wage,” the circular reads in part.

The PS also warned accounting officers against using wage budget lines to pay non-wage related activities such as allowances for casual labourers, saying the act is illegal and compromises budgets for priority areas.

Over time there have been complaints from civil servants who claim that their salaries are deducted even when they have never applied for loans or continue to be charged even after their full loan payments.

To avoid the reoccurrence, Mr Ggoobi directed accounting officers to delete all deduction codes for non-statutory deduction, including that of Payment Solutions Uganda.

He said scrapping codes for non-statutory deduction would eliminate middlemen in the loan deduction process, who include among others, companies handling loan deduction, bankers, accounting officers, heads of human resources and finance departments.

“By copy of this circular, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Public Service as the chief advisor on payroll matters and the Accountant General on the government payment system/process are informed and requested to take necessary action immediately,” Mr Ggoobi wrote.

The circular is also copied to the Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija, Minister of Public Service Muruli Mukasa, head of public service and secretary to Cabinet Lucy Nakyobe, among others.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government Ben Kumumanya, and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Public Service Catherine Musingwire Bitarakwate